The official recorder's office for ordinances performed according to the doctrine of Christ

Month: November 2017

The posts below are the personal thoughts of the Recorder. These thoughts are his, and may not correspond to the official purpose of recording names of those baptized in the Preserving the Restoration movement. These writings are not vouched for under the auspices of the official logo. You have come to this page having made a conscious decision to click on it. To proceed in reading these things will require from you another decision after having read this explanation. This message divides the Recorder’s responsibility to conduct official business from his personal thoughts about things.

I am aware that some have not appreciated the effort of drawing lots as the means to choose seven individuals to write the Statement. As I contemplate what has happened and delve deeper into the many “coincidence’s” which have come to light in the effort, I simply stand all amazed at what has taken place, and thought, perhaps, you might enjoy the following.

The Equality Factor

Perhaps there are other processes which could give participants the equality of which we have been taught so much lately, but so does drawing of lots. There were 185 unique numbers in the (now famous/infamous) spittoon. Each number was unique to a person who had accepted this process and submitted their own name, or had submitted another’s name [who also accepted]. Without factoring in other things such as shape and size of Elaine’s hand, or size of the spittoon, or the type of tag used, or other tools of the statistician’s trade, each number in the pot had, at first drawing, 1 in 185 chances of being drawn. As Elaine dipped her hand into the pot the second time each number had 1 in 184 chances of being drawn, etc., until the 14th consecutive drawn number offered a 1 in 171 chance for each number in the pot to be drawn. Every number in the pot had, at each picking, as equal a chance as every other number in the pot to be drawn. Every person had the same offer to put his/her name in for the drawing. This WAS a way to produce equality among all this Covenant group.

There were 114 unique numbers in the pot representing males, while there were 71 representing females. This means that by random chance alone there should have been 5 numbers drawn representing women, to 9 numbers drawn representing men. Yet there were 12 men vs 2 women, and those two women are split, one in the first group of 7, and one in the second group of 7. The probability that it would happen this way in each group of 7 is about 1 in 2,500.

I am told that the odds of drawing a husband and wife were approximately 33,000 to 1. And the odds of drawing the husband and wife consecutively would be 33,000 to one, to the 185th power. Other things we could list that would effect the probability of this couple would be the couple themselves, who they are among us. Another could be the drawing of the husband first and the wife next. In other words the result is so small as to be statistically zero.

Other improbabilities exist.

In the first group of seven one of the individuals lives in the United Kingdom, but happens to be the son in law of another member in that group, and is in regular communication with his father in law.

The fact that Jeff Savage’s name was drawn in the 14th spot or even drawn at all is very very very small (I couldn’t get anyone to calculate the numbers for this, but this was the common opinion). I wonder if for Jeff the case could be made that “the first shall be last and the last shall be first. At the very least God is aware of Jeff Savage. Jeff, many of us love you for what you did.

But, perhaps for me the greatest evidence of God’s hand in this drawing is the product itself. Read for yourself the “Plea” and then the “Guide and Standard” and experience for yourself the message of peace contained in them, and see if perhaps you can also agree.

I would like to echo the sentiment expressed by the compilers, Praise be to our God for His mercy and goodness. These are His words compiled by those He chose.

I would personally like to thank all who offered their services. Again there were 184 who volunteered or were volunteered and accepted to participate in this drawing of lots. As I saw this effort mature I was amazed and said to myself quite often, “so this is how this is done.” Well, at least this is how it was done by us.

You can watch or listen to the whole process by clicking on one of the links in the previous post.

As entertaining as that may be, it doesn’t show the many hours of preparation which went into making that 19 minute presentation possible. There were well over a hundred who, in one manner or another, made it possible to get that video produced. We give a heartfelt thanks to the 184 mentioned above whose names were in the spittoon for the drawing. And there were almost 400 who voted to accept drawing of lots, as the means for getting a group together who will now produce a Statement of Principles, to take to our Lord for acceptance.

May God’s Spirit and blessing accompany these who develop this Statement and all those who have participated in this process. Our prayers are with you.

On November 12, 2017 lots were drawn in order to form a committee which will compose a Statement Of Principles. There were 184 individual names submitted from which 14 were drawn by Elaine Henderson. The first 7 names will comprise the committee with responsibility to compose the statement. The other 7 names will, in the order they were drawn, comprise a pool of alternates, if needed.

The first 7 numbers drawn are: 52, 198, 36, 44, 186, 175, and 96.

The second set of 7 numbers drawn are: 38, 133, 181, 32, 30, 105, and 62.

This post has only one purpose, to solicit you to send in your name, or perhaps another you feel would be acceptable to our Lord, to be included in the jar (or box) from which names will be drawn according to the system of drawing lots, that will comprise those individuals making up the committee which will write a Statement of Principles.

Boy, that was a mouthful but I wanted to insure understanding of what we are doing here. We are only drawing lots to determine God’s will about who will write a Statement of Principles.

I was surprised at how many have responded to this tactic of selection. The great majority of those responding have expressed their desire to use this method, but even if you felt to vote against this process please know that your response was needed. I feel it is a valid way of determining God’s will. Others would perhaps disagree thinking revelation should only be a voice in the mind, or perhaps an audible voice causing air to vibrate, or others need a personal visitation. Gideon needed a piece of fleece to make it work for him; asking the lord to please have the dew of the night settle only on the fleece and the earth be dry. When that worked he asked the Lord for another sign. This time just the reverse. Have the earth be wet with dew and the fleece be dry. That worked also, and the anger of the Lord was not kindled at such a request.

At the very beginning of the Book of Mormon (a Covenant to us) we are confronted by the son’s of Lehi drawing lots to determine who gets to confront Laban about the brass plates. We see in hind sight God’s purpose in having it work out as it did, but I doubt Nephi had any grandiose scheme in mind about him finally being the one to succeed and obtain the accoutrements of kingship. It was just four brothers, sitting around a campfire, exercising faith that God’s choice would be with them in drawing the short straw (or whatever) to see who went first. And there are many others:

And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” (Acts 1:24-26.) The same method is used here by Apostles as had been used by the Lord’s crucifiers to divide up His clothing, as He was hanging on the cross in the last throes of dying. When we think of the Roman guards using it to divide Christ’s clothing, it becomes less inspired-looking and more homely. It looks more like expediency than revelation as a tool for choosing an Apostle. Yet, at the same time, this same process is built into all the scriptures and has been used by those of faith for millennia. Without regard to feeling, emotion or desire, the lots are drawn and the assignments are made. These physical objects contain within them the Lord’s mind for organizing a council by whom work gets done and things get written.

From Nephi’s casting lots to decide who would go, to choosing a scapegoat, to choosing an apostle, to choosing roles for a disciplinary court, casting lots has been the way people of faith have determined God’s will for centuries. Through it God “speaks.” But it requires faith to see it in that light. For these are ordinary, even commonplace ways of making a decision. Only through faith, however, does it acquire the “voice of God” in it. With that said let’s proceed to the work of making this work.

Read carefully that which is below. Please click on all the links and obtain all the understanding you can. And then if you feel to move forward, to submit your’s or another’s name for inclusion in the lots, click on the first link again to find the form required. Fill it out with honesty and integrity and push submit. May God bless us all in this effort.

Keith Henderson

THE WORK

If you have entered into the recent covenant offered, you may submit the following on the website indicated below until Sunday November 12, 2017 at 7pm MST:
1. Names, including your own if you feel called or those of others you would like to nominate, to be drawn by lot to serve on the body of 7 to compile a Statement of Principles; when submitting name(s) please include contact information such as email and/or phone number as directed in the form.
2. Versions of the Statement of Principles that you have had a primary role in developing for the body of 7 to consider when they are performing their labor. Even if you have previously posted a Statement of Principles on the Guide & Standard website, it will need to be resubmitted to the Central Recorder through this form for consideration by the body of 7.

As your information is received via the form linked to above, you (or those you nominate) will receive an email or phone call from the Central Recorder to 1) confirm that you are willing to participate (for those nominated by others), 2) verify that you meet the criteria listed below, and 3) inform you of your unique “lot number” (if your name is submitted multiple times, you will only receive 1 “lot number”):
* At least 18 years of age;
* (Re)baptized and baptism recorded with the Central Recorder;
* Entered into the recent covenant;
* Agree to perform your labor according to the criteria of composing the Statement of Principles using primarily the words of Christ directly or through an authorized servant (as described in the United Proposal).

As Statement of Principles documents are received, the Central Recorder will copy them into an electronic folder that will be shared with the body of 7. While the body of 7 are not required to incorporate any of these materials into the Statement of Principles that they compile, they are at liberty to choose one or more to use as the basis, or bring together aspects of different Statements of Principles into a single document that also includes their own labors, as guided by the Spirit.

The drawing of lots (ie, “lot numbers”) will take place on Sunday November 12, 2017 at 9pm MST. The event will be broadcast on this link or by calling 1-669-900-6833 (Meeting ID: 216 044 0046). The broadcast is limited to 150 viewers/callers, but a link to a recording will be made available soon after the drawing of lots on the Recorder’s Clearinghouse website for any who are not able to join the live broadcast. The “lot numbers” selected (including alternates) will also be posted to the Recorder’s Clearinghouse website immediately following the drawing. As soon as all those whose “lot numbers” were drawn have been confirmed and verified (if this was not completed prior to the drawing), the names of the body of 7 will be posted to the Central Recorder’s website. The Central Recorder will then put the 7 in communication with each other via email and send to them any Statement of Principles documents that have been received. The baton will then be officially passed to the body of 7 to complete the assignment as outlined in the lots proposal (see here and here) as well as the United Proposal. For whatever reason, if the body of 7 cannot complete a Statement of Principles to be presented to the Lord within two weeks, a set of 7 alternates will replace them to complete the assignment. We humbly ask that all who feel so inclined will unite in prayer and fasting on Sunday November 12th so that the Lord’s will may be manifest.